Dear Jon,
Computing, Planning and Short-termism
As a computing professional I'm surprised that in your report of the governors' meeting that you appear to have failed to mention the impact that the developing skills shortage in computing is already having re the increased demand for computing graduates. That the 'downturn' in computing as a chosen degree is regarded as a cyclic time-lag following the dot.com bust of 2001/2002 (i.e. potential students survey the market as it is at the time of choosing their potential degree options - not as it is likely to be by the time they graduate). We therefore have a situation where the last 3-4 years has seen a marked decline in applications for computing courses, but where we now have the onset of a major computing skills shortage. In such a situation, most other universities (including I should add some of our near 'competitors' - Greenwich, South Bank, East London, Kingston) have decided to re-position their computing departments in order to prepare for this projected increase in demand and therefore use this temporary 'lull' to re-train/re-equip their staff to take advantage of the developing situation. They have not - and would have been completely stupid to - decided to jettison a large number of their staff (and likely lose an awful lot more as a result) at such a time.
This is not the first time such a situation has occurred. A similar situation arose with language course provision a few years back. A number of universities cut provision to the bone and others even closed down departments. Almost immediately afterwards there was a major government push towards languages (as is likely to be the case with computing - read the British Computer Society report to government noting the impact to the economy of the current skills crises and the need for government action to help alleviate this) that only those that hadn't indulged in such short-term panic measures were able to take advantage of.
On another point you make. I'm sorry the Governors find it an invasion of their privacy to receive correspondence at their home addresses. Perhaps a solution would be for the governors to make themselves available and accountable to university staff - I would suggest given the 'gravity of the current financial situation' that they immediately go about arranging open forum meetings where all interested parties can attend and have their views listened to. However, I'm sure you will agree, a letter stating the staff case against compulsory redundancies and the need for serious negotiations with the recognised staff trade union is a far less worrying letter to receive on your doormat than the one that states you are likely to be made compulsory redundant, your skills and experience are no longer valued, and that all of this is a result of a financial crisis you personally had nothing to do with. Indeed, the 'crisis' appears to stem from management's desire to spend the money we could have used to save jobs (and project an image of good long-term planning) on: legal fees unsuccessfully fighting your colleagues in the courts; wasted on a capital investment portfolio, and what little remains is now being targeted at buying a campus in a part of London already occupied by an existing university.
Kind regards
Mark Campbell
Senior Lecturer CCTM
CCTM Departmental Forum Chair